


Being Human

by emmathehoe



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-16 07:41:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29078778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emmathehoe/pseuds/emmathehoe
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Kudos: 2





	Being Human

The new year 1976 approached and like the rebellious teens they were, James Potter and Sirius Black both decided that they would stay at Hogwarts for the Christmas holiday. Sirius received howler after howler from his mother, telling him she’s broken his heart and all that, and consequently he received no Christmas presents from his family that year. But thankfully, James, whose family was even richer than the Blacks, always showered his buddies with gifts. Remus Lupin often only got a pair of socks or an old sweater for Christmas. His family had always struggled on the money side of things, but things got especially tough when their money was drained from the medical fees when Remus was initially bitten by Fenrir Greyback. So, for him it meant an immense amount of guilt, but also lots of “regifts” from James and Sirius when one of their gifts from their “parents” just “didn’t fit right.” But every time this happened, the sweater, the sneakers or the new jeans were always exactly his size.

The fourth member of this friend group, Peter Pettigrew, went home for Christmas (involuntarily) for the first time since his first year. His father was very ill and close to death and there was no way to be sure that he wouldn’t be dead by the time Peter got home for summer. But frankly, Peter did not care. He and his father did not have a good relationship, and they never had. His father treated him with indifference, when he was treating him with anything. Most of the time, he was ignored. His mother, on the other hand, was overbearing and extremely critical of Peter’s every action. Every bad mark, every dropped plate, every stumble down the stairs was criticized and it drove Peter insane. The good news about his visit home for the holiday was that he wasn’t going to be spending all his time with his parents, because his father was at St. Mungo’s and his mother was spending most of the time with his father. Yet something sad came along with not being at Hogwarts that Peter somehow forgot about every time he went home: the lack of food. Already being in poverty and now having a father in hospital meant less food than ever for Peter. But the brightside was having friends like he did. James and Sirius sent off their gifts to Peter along with a couple sickles and a bunch of chocolate. He made sure to show his appreciation to them.

The new year did not only mean the beginning of the end of the Christmas holiday, it meant a party in the dormitory, with lots of alcohol that Sirius stole from the kitchens. And this year, James had the brilliant idea of inviting Lily Evans to said party. Sirius told James that he would only make a fool of himself and Remus agreed, and she didn’t seem like the type of girl who would want to come and get drunk with them. James disagreed. He thought this was the perfect way to get in with her. And plus, Remus and her were prefects together. So…

“Moony, come on mate! You and Lily are friends, you can just ask her,” James begged.

“That’s embarrassing! And what if she thinks _I_ like her, that would be so humiliating,” Remus argued.

Sirius rolled his eyes. “You’re making it a bigger deal than it actually is. Just go over to her and ask if she wants to hang out with us tonight. Do it for James!”

James smiled wide. "Yeah! Do it for me! Please."

Remus opened his mouth to argue, but let it go. “Fine.”

“Thank you so much mate,” James said.

“Yeah, it’s no problem,” Remus said and peered down the stairs into the common room. “See you guys in a moment.”

Remus walked down the curved staircase into the common room where Lily Evans was sitting alone, reading one of her textbooks under a lamp. He noticed she was in pajamas already.

“Hi Lily,” Remus said.

Lily looked up from her textbook and smiled brightly at Remus. “Hi Remus. How are you?”

“I’m great, how are you?” He asked.

“That’s good to hear, Remus. I’m good as well,” she said.

“Good. I was wondering if you wanted to join me, James and Sirius in our dormitory for New Years later,” Remus said.

She cracked a smile and let out a small chuckle. “I would love to join you guys.”

“Lovely,” Remus said. “Well, we’ll see you later tonight.”

“Yes,” she responded and shifted her attention back to her textbook.

Remus walked back up to the dormitory and James asked, “What did she say?”

“She’s coming,” Remus said calmly and flopped onto his bed.

James fist pumped and thanked Remus. 

“We should play spin the bottle,” Sirius suggested, and Remus shot him a glare.

“No, I’d rather die than kiss you, Pads,” Remus joked and Sirius gave a belly laugh. Remus noticed a genuinely sad look in Sirius’ eyes after he said that.

“Will you give me a tattoo?” James asked Sirius.

“Sure, what of?”

“You are not getting a tattoo, James,” Remus said sternly. “Tattoos are permanent, you know.”

Sirius rolled his eyes and turned to Remus. “That’s the point. I’ll get my needle and ink from my trunk.”

“What are you even going to get?” Remus asked.

“Sirius can surprise me,” James said.

Sirius smirked. “Oh?”

“Yeah, do whatever you want,” James said, and Remus gave him a questioning look. “What?”

“You’re going to let Pads give you a tattoo of whatever he wants. That’s going to turn bad quick,” Remus said. "You're not even drunk yet. How are you being this idiotic?"

“I trust him,” James said.

Sirius looked up from digging through his trunk. “Where do you want it?”

“My back, maybe,” James said.

“Jesus,” Remus said and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Sirius found his pen, ink and needle and sat down behind James on his bed. “Okay. Take off your shirt, my very sexy friend.”

James laughed loudly and took off his shirt. He felt a pen moving on his back. “So you know what you’re going to do?” 

“Yes,” Sirius said, in a state of pure concentration. “Moony, come watch.”

“I can’t,” Remus said.

“No, really, you’ll like this,” Sirius said and picked up his needle. “Okay mate, this is going to hurt but I need you to stay still.”

“Okay,” James said calmly.

“Jesus,” Remus said under his breath. He couldn’t help but peer over at his stupid, stupid friends.

“Ouch,” James yelped and Sirius apologized over and over again.

Remus lied down on his bed and put his pillow over his ear and shut his eyes so he wouldn’t have to watch or hear what was going on. After a few more minutes of muffled apologies and soft cries, he heard his friends laughing and he got out of his bed to see the final product. He saw Sirius wiping James’ back with disinfectant and he walked over. The tattoo read:

_Tattoos are permanent, you know. -Moony_

“Pads!” Remus said angrily and punched Sirius in the arm.

“Ow! What?” Sirius asked, rubbing his arm.

Remus stared at the tattoo, “I hate you.”

“I love it!” James said, still laughing loudly. “I don’t even know what it says yet.”

“It says-”

“Shut up Moony, I want him to see it for himself,” Sirius said. “Okay, it’s going to be sore for the next few days but I’ll help you with the healing. Go look.”

James shot up and walked into the bathroom and Remus and Sirius soon heard him cackling. 

“Holy crap, Padfoot, this is bloody brilliant,” James said excitedly. 

“I know right!” Sirius said, shooting off the bed and going to give James a fist bump. “Moony, you’re next.”

“Again, I hate you,” Remus said. “I’m never getting tattoos.”

“You don’t really need them. Your scars make you look badass enough,” James said.

Remus laughed. “Thanks, James.”

“I forgot how ass my handwriting was,” Sirius said, still admiring James’ new tattoo.

“I think it adds to the impact,” James said. “Like, it’s so imperfect but it’s permanent. So what’s done is done, right?”

“Yes!” Sirius exclaimed. “You are so right James. What do you think, Moony?”

Remus cracked a smile. “You’re literally an idiot.”

Sirius began laughing and looked at Remus with a tender expression. “Prongs, go get the drinks.”

“You want me to go alone?” James asked.

“We all can’t fit under the cloak anymore,” Sirius commented.

James rolled his eyes. “True. Okay, I’ll be back.”

He grabbed his invisibility cloak and walked out of the dormitory.

Remus looked at Sirius, who was staring at him with puppy dog eyes. “What?”

“Kiss?” Sirius asked.

Remus stared at him for a moment before walking over and giving him a kiss. “Is this why you kicked James out?”

“No,” Sirius lied. “Why can’t I just tell him?”

“I’m not ready,” Remus said, letting Sirius kiss him again. He placed his hand on Sirius’s chest and let it linger there. “This is between us. I don’t know why we have to tell anyone.”

“He’s my best friend,” Sirius argued. “It feels like I’m lying to him.”

Remus tilted his head and pulled his hand from Sirius’ chest. “It’s not lying. It’s just something that we keep between us.”

“It’s just James,” Sirius said. “We wouldn’t have to sneak around anymore if we just told him.”

“I can’t, Pads,” Remus said. Sirius softened and placed his hand on top of Remus’s. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Sirius said. “I love you.”

Remus let himself smile and he kissed Sirius. “I love you too.”

Suddenly, Remus hopped off of Sirius’s bed and back onto him when he heard footsteps and voices coming up the stairs. Sirius looked at him sadly and Lily and James entered the dormitory. She was carrying a bottle of wine and he was carrying bottles of fire whisky. Sirius winked at Remus seductively and went over to James as Remus’s stomach fluttered.

“Evans, how are you?” Sirius asked.

“I’m great,” Lily said. “How are you?”

“I am great as well,” Sirius said, glancing over at Remus who glared at him, very annoyed.

Lily asked, “You lot steal from the kitchens often then?”

“Yes,” Remus said. “It’s the only way to get your hands on alcohol around here.”

Sirius took a breath from drinking and said, “Sometimes Prongs’s dad will send us a bottle of vodka in the mail.”

“Jesus Christ,” Lily said. “My dad would’ve never done that.”

“Your dad dead?” Remus asked and walked over to the three others who were now sitting cross legged on the floor. 

Lily nodded. “Yeah.”

“How?” James asked. “If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Lung cancer,” Lily said. She saw the boys begin to ask questions and she said quickly, “It happened last summer and I’m doing alright.”

“My dads dead too, Lily,” Remus said and he was greeted by awkward glares. “I know how you feel.”

She smiled at him softly. “Thanks, Remus.”

Remus glanced down at the floor and said, “Okay, I think I need a drink.”


End file.
